While a lot of credit should go to Dhoni for making India one of the best ODI teams in the world, a lot of obloquy should also be credited to him for taking India from the top to the bottom in Test matches. (Getty Images)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with all the success that he has got at the international level, always gave that guy next door feeling and from the streets of Ranchi to becoming the heartthrob of millions, he always had his own way of doing things. We might agree to disagree on a lot of things but the man had persona in every sense of the term which cannot be ignored.
The Indian cricket reached different heights under his captaincy from becoming the World no 1 Test side to winning the T20 and ODI World Cup but every rose has its thorn and Dhoni's graph will resemble much like an ECG report but that's what makes the world go round by moulding things even as a straight line in an ECG report will pretty much sum up the end of events.
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The career which promised a lot more but delivered little in terms of runs and his captaincy in Test matches which may go on to haunt the man who is still young for Test match cricket. But captaincy as always can take a toll on your skills and Dhoni who started off with long hairs finished with a white beard as is the case when you stay at the helm of affairs in Indian cricket for too long.
While a lot of credit should go to Dhoni for making India one of the best one-day teams in the world, a lot of obloquy should also be credited to the man from Ranchi for taking India from the top to the bottom in the longest format of the game.
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When you sit back and assess Dhoni's achievements, it is quite strange in one way that no other man in the history of Indian cricket has invoked such mixed emotions, as many would call him the best thing to happen in Indian cricket from the viewpoint of ODI's and probably the worst in Test matches as captain.
There is a reason why it is called Test cricket and such is the cruelty of the format that it can open up a can of worms and highlight the flaws in such a manner that it can pretty much give you a hiding. Dhoni's record in Test matches as captain is pretty good with the best winning rate than any other captain but at the same time the worst in overseas conditions.
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He has captained India in 60 matches out of which 30 are in overseas where he has won 6 that gives him a win percentage of 20% and probably remained the only Indian captain who was not sacked after a 8-0 drubbing in Tests.
While a lot of people thought that this year would change Indian cricket with the team travelling to South Africa, New Zealand , England and Australia but it turned to be an action replay of the events that happened four years ago. So at some point of time the losses were going to get stressful apart from his pretty evident reason of the strain of playing all the formats.
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The controversy in the IPL where his name got dragged also did not help his cause and to put it straight he was under a lot of pressure, not just to perform but also to get away from all the rubbish that was going on around him.
Well, India might miss out on his batting abilities in Test matches but it certainly does not make the team poorer and can be a blessing in disguise as it can open a new horizon for Indian cricket with Virat Kohli leading from the front.
The concept of new players coming in and learning is an outdated concept as Test matches can certainly not be a learning curve for players for more than a couple of years. Some of the players have been there in the previous tour as well and it is time to move on and look for a different bunch of players. Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli were good investments and can take the team forward in the future years.
Dhoni always gave the feeling that when he goes, it will be sudden but to do it in the middle of a tour is a bit more than sudden. Cricket, such as life, is a great leveler as it has this unique ability to give and take at the same breath and while he might feature in India's list of best captains, he might also be remembered for India's dismal show overseas with some of the most shocking field placements and decisions he has taken in his life.
We should not be afraid to go into a new era, to leave the old beyond and India can only climb up the ladder from here on as what worst it can be to lose almost all the Test matches abroad, barring a few.
Having said all that, Dhoni is still India's best chance of winning the World Cup next year as he is like a chameleon who becomes a different player with the change of clothes, from traditional whites to blues and it reflects on his captaincy in the shorter format as well because he, as a player is more confident in that format.
There is life after retirement for Dhoni and if he keeps playing ODI cricket, it might just be better. Afterall retiring at the age of 33 when you can still have pimples is a bit weird but in retrospect it might just be what India needed in Test matches.
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